Satellites, Other Means Help US to Detect African Famines Earlier with Its Budget Cut, AID Relies on High-Tech to Identify Food Need

Ben Barber, Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor

THANKS to a high-tech system that relies on satellites, the United States has begun to stay a step ahead of famine in Africa.

At present, more than 20 million people are threatened by famine in the Horn of Africa, according to data recently collected by the government's Famine Early Warning System (FEWS). The result: a large US aid program is poised to intervene.

Launched nearly a decade ago, after famine struck Ethiopia, FEWS relies on satellite imagery to measure vegetation and rainfall in Africa. And in an exercise called "grounding truth," experts then gather information on food prices, harvest yields, civil strife, and other conditions that often lead to …

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Publication information: Article title: Satellites, Other Means Help US to Detect African Famines Earlier with Its Budget Cut, AID Relies on High-Tech to Identify Food Need. Contributors: Ben Barber, Monitor - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: July 8, 1994. Page number: 2. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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